Blackwell to follow Flintoff's weight-loss recipe

Ian Blackwell, the Somerset all-rounder who has stepped in to replace Andrew Flintoff in England's one-day squad, is ready to follow the Lancashire player's lead on and off the pitch.

As he prepares to make his England debut, Blackwell, 24, who weighs 17-and-a-half stone, commented yesterday on the effect that shedding the pounds has had on Flintoff.

"He [Flintoff] has transformed his game," Blackwell said. "The press were on his back and it highlighted the problem he had. He has addressed it well and he looks a better player for it. He has established himself in the Test side as well as the one-day side. He has done a good job and he deserves it.

"He has turned his life round and I would like to follow in his footsteps."

Flintoff has pulled out of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka because he needed a hernia operation, opening the way for Blackwell to complete a fabulous season with an England call-up. He is due to go to Adelaide later this year as part of the English Academy, who will spend the winter training and playing matches under their director, Rod Marsh.

Now Blackwell has his sights set on the World Cup in South Africa in February with an England team who were due to leave London yesterday afternoon for the ICC tournament that started yesterday morning when Sri Lanka beat Pakistan. England's first match is not for another week, but Blackwell has more pressure than he needs.

"I am a bit too heavy, I suppose," he said. "If I can get down to 15 and a half or 16 stone that would be good, it would be my fighting weight. I don't eat that much. I tend to eat the wrong things. I have been looking at that over the last few weeks especially. Hopefully, I can take that on into the winter and I am sure Rod Marsh will have his own ways and means.

"I have big, rugby-style legs – not cricketers' legs – and that tends to add the weight a little bit. I carry it quite well but hopefully I can slim down a bit and look more athletic.

"It is difficult because you are always away from home. You have to eat at restaurants or fast food places on the way back from a game but it is something that you can address."

Blackwell, who earned his England recognition having made three centuries and having helped Somerset to the final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy, said: "Over the next six months it will change my lifestyle and, hopefully, I will come back from Adelaide a better player, kick on and maybe become an England regular."

A tired-looking India team arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday after weeks of haggling with the International Cricket Council over sponsorship rights. "We are happy to be here," their captain, Saurav Ganguly, said.

The Indian players have had little rest after leaving England early this week, but Ganguly said, "We will get some rest and should be fine." India play their first match against Zimbabwe on Saturday.